ESPN History

#TBT: X Games Tony Hawk

Tony Hawk celebrating after landing the first ever 900 at X Games V. (Shazamm/ESPN Images)
Tony Hawk celebrating after landing the first ever 900 at X Games V in 1999.
(Shazamm/ESPN Images)
X Games Austin 2015 on numerous ESPN platforms

X Games Austin 2015 will receive extensive coverage with content distributed across multiple television and digital platforms beginning tonight (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET) through Sunday, June 7. ESPN and ABC will televise a combined 20 hours of live competition with an additional 6.5 hours of live action exclusively on ESPN3 and supported across ESPN digital platforms. ESPN3 will simulcast ABC’s live windows on Saturday and Sunday (2 p.m. ET). For more information, visit ESPN MediaZone.

X Games Austin kicks off today on ESPN. The premier event in action sports has produced many milestones over the years, including skateboarder Tony Hawk landing the first ever 900 (two-and-a-half revolutions in mid-air) during X Games V in San Francisco in 1999. In this week’s #TBT, two people who played a role in capturing Hawk’s monumental moment share their memories from that day.

Jay Rothman, now ESPN’s Vice President of Production and Monday Night Football producer, was producing the skateboarding competition at X Games V. He was talking via headset to then-sport organizer Don Bostick during Hawk’s run.

“The event was over and Tony kept going. I remember telling Don we have plenty of tape, just let him go,” recalled Rothman. “When he landed the 900, it was like a game 7 celebration in the bottom of the vert ramp.”

Rich Feinberg, coordinating producer at the time (now a Vice President, Production), was positioned in the broadcast center.

“The ramp was going to win, or he was going to win,” Feinberg said. “It was the moment that shook Piers 30/32.”

Relive the moments leading up to Hawk’s 900 and the thoughts that were going through his head here.

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